Pagan Origins of the Christ Myth

By John G. Jackson

A classic resource that connects the cardinal doctrines of Christianity to their origins in the ancient civilizations that preceded the religion.
In Pagan Origins of the Christ Myth, John G. Jackson sources the pagan origins of Christian doctrine with particular focus on the creation and atonement myths. Rooted in historical facts, Jackson's claims are steeped in research and demonstrate how Christianity synthesizes the rituals, beliefs, and characteristics of savior gods from ancient Egyptian, Greek, Aztec, and Hindu origins. Initially published in 1941, this concise introduction remains an insightful contribution to comparative religion studies.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Dec 17, 2018
• ISBN: 9781648371110

Book preview

Pagan Origins of The Christ Myth

The cardinal doctrines of the Christian religion are (1) the Fall of Man and (2) the Atonement. There are liberal Christian apologists who no longer subscribe to a literal belief in the Fall of Man. They have relegated Adam and Eve to the realm of mythology. These liberals are opposed by the orthodox apologists, who declare that belief in the Atonement implies belief in the Fall of Man. Logic seems to be on the orthodox side. As T. W. Doane has pointed out:

These two dogmas cannot be separated from each other. if there was no Fall, there is no need of an atonement, and no Redeemer is required. Those, then, who consent in recognizing in Christ Jesus a God and Redeemer, and who, notwithstanding, cannot resolve upon admitting the story of the Fall of man to be historical, should exculpate themselves from the reproach of inconsistency.¹

Anyone who is familiar with the elements of the higher criticism knows that there are two stories of the Creation and Fall of Man in the book of Genesis. The first, or Priestly Account, was written in the fifth century B.C. and extends from the beginning of Genesis through verse 3 of chapter 2. The second, or Jehovistic Account, begins with verse 4 of chapter 2, and extends through the third chapter. This version of the story was written in the eighth century B.C. It is interesting to note that the second narrative is about three hundred years older than the first. In the following comparison of these two tales, the Priestly version is designated by the letter P, and the Jehovistic version by the letters J.E. These documents differ in six important points, to wit:

(1) P: The earth emerges from the waters. It is saturated with moisture.

J.E.: The world is at first a dry plain. There was no vegetation, because the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth.²

(2) P: Birds and beasts are created before man.

J.E.: Man is created before the birds and beasts.

(3) P: All fowls that fly are made out of the waters.

J.E.: The fowls of the air are made out of the ground.

(4) P: Man is created in the image of god.

J.E.: Man is made out of the dust of the ground. It is only after eating of the forbidden fruit that god said, Behold, the man is become as one of us.³

(5) P: Man is made lord of the whole earth.

J.E.: Man is merely placed in the garden to dress it and keep it.

(6) P: Man and woman are created together, as the closing and completing work of the whole creation.

J.E.: Man is created first, then beasts and birds are, which are named by the man. Finally, the woman is made out of a rib of the man.

Orthodox Christians claim that both of these stories must be believed, even though they contradict each other at numerous points. There have been eminent Christian authorities, however, who have rejected a literal view of Genesis. The celebrated church father, Bishop Origen, wrote as follows:

What man of sense will agree with the statement that the first, second and third days, in which

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